Coup amidst covid: charting an early-career urban geographer's epistemic journey through crisis – a north–south perspective

Abstract. In this reflective essay, I discuss the epistemic challenges encountered through my research journey, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the coup back home in Myanmar. As a PhD student from the Global South but residing in Europe during these crises, I highlight the conditions of precarity I faced and how they were reinforced by the uneven structural rules, accentuating the need for collective action and effective change. Despite these challenges, I maintain that crises offer a crucial opportunity to innovate in research practices and move toward more inclusive approaches. This would include accounting for the constraints of crises and supporting researchers who need to flexibly respond to conditions of crises.